Friday Apple Rumors: Apple Streaming Music to Launch in 2013

by Christopher Freeburn | November 30, 2012 2:29 pm

Friday Apple Rumors: Apple Streaming Music to Launch in 2013

[1]Here are your Apple rumors[2] and AAPL news items for today:

Radio Rivals: An industry analyst firm predicts that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL[3]) will roll out a new streaming music service next year[4], CNET notes. BTIG Research issued the forecast after speaking with unnamed music and computer industry executives. Rumors that Apple was preparing to take on streaming services like Spotify and Pandora (NYSE:P[5]) surfaced over the past few months. BTIG noted that Apple added a new feature to its just-released update for iTunes that allows users to tune in Internet radio. BTIG argues that the current slate of Internet radio options aren’t appealing and that Apple could simply issue an update to replace the option with its own service.

Unchained: Smartphone buyers who crave an iPhone 5, but don’t want to burden of a two-year service contract can now purchase an unlocked version of the phone from Apple[6], PC Magazine notes. The unlocked iPhone 5 is priced at $649 for the 16GB version, $739 for the 32GB version and $849 for the 64GB model. However, buyers hoping to run their new unlocked iPhone 5s on Verizon (NYSE:VZ[7]) or Sprint (NYSE:S[8]) are out of luck. The unlocked iPhone 5s sold on Apple’s online store will only work on GSM networks in the U.S., meaning they can only be used with AT&T (NYSE:T[9]) or Deutsche Telekom’s (PINK:DTEGY[10]) T-Mobile. Only two unlocked iPhone 5s will be sold to each customer.

Arriving Soon: Chinese consumers will get their chance to purchase a flurry of new Apple products starting next week,[11] InformationWeek notes. Apple will begin taking pre-orders for the iPad Mini and fourth-generation iPad beginning on December 6. A reservation system is in place to prevent the sort of chaos that erupted at Beijing’s Apple Store during the launch of the iPhone 4S. The iPhone 5, which was granted a network license by Chinese telecommunication regulators this week, will be available for ordering on December 14.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors[12] stories.